Our museum, once filled with diversity, connection and learning, is now only haunted by nostalgic childhood memories of past generations and a fear that the future generations will not get the same experiences.

In early 2025, Dr. Walter V. Wendler, president of West Texas A&M University, announced the closure of our community museum– the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum. Wendler claimed the reason for closing the museum was a result of 149 fire and life-safety code violations. A total of over $100 million dollars would need to be raised to reopen PPHM. While community members demonstrated their devastation, Wendler did not wish to alter his original decision. The museum has played a crucial role in our community since 1933. Future generations deserve to witness the cultural education of our museum.

When researching the traditional definition of museum, it is defined by– a building in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited. While this may be the definition, it does not quite fully represent what PPHM has meant to our community. We grew up cruising down 4th Street viewing the 1925 Cable Tool Drilling Rig, eagerly questioning what we were viewing. Then growing up in Canyon, we began taking field trips to the museum, touring the museum, visiting Santa at the museum, performing at the museum, building artistic crafts at the museum, learning a deeper understanding of our history and connecting deeper with the community of Canyon. For many in our community, eliminating our museum is not just removing a building in our city. Eliminating the museum removes a cultural anchor that has shaped generations in Canyon.

By closing the museum, and not fixing safety issues, we are erasing opportunities for future students. Our museum has collected millions of artifacts that represent generations of Panhandle life. Canyon will lose a substantial opportunity for educational properties. Our museum’s mission was to educate years of generations while enforcing an interactive environment. PPHM holds educational artifacts such as: cultural understanding, transportation, various textiles, dinosaur fossils, historical monuments, representational art and much more. Each and every artifact in our museum holds a special place in our community. These artifacts represent the history of the Panhandle and Canyon’s journey to what we are today.

The expense of losing our museum filled with generations of Texas Panhandle history far outweighs the expense associated with meeting safety standards. Saving PPHM may be costly, however, that does not mean the journey is out of our reach. As a community we have various options leading to the proper route for a positive outcome in this situation. Previously, our community held two major events. One event was a simple meeting captioning the current societal issue, while on the other hand our town came together in unison to rally for a positive cause. If we are able to join in unity we can make a difference for the successes of those following in our footsteps. Any offering can benefit the future between our upcoming generations and effective education in our community. `

The Panhandle Plain Historical Museum deserves to stay in our community. The impact the museum has enforced on our community as well as the impact it has the ability to create are beneficial for the future of the Panhandle.